Hanoi Tours: Every Type Compared, From Bay Cruises to Motorbikes

The shortlist below picks one tour per type, ranked by how many first-time visitors it suits, with each card's own length, price and rating.

Most small-group Hanoi tours cap the group at 6 to 20 people. The table below sorts them by the question each one answers.

These are the add-ons on this page's cards, as each listing states them. The dollar figures are converted at 1,000 VND = $0.03887.

- Ha Long Bay entrance fee, two-day cruise: $24.49 (VND 630,000) per person, paid in cash to the guide at the harbour. It is not in the $80. The figure matches the bay's published fee of $21.38 (VND 550,000) for one night on route 2 plus the $3.11 (VND 80,000) round-trip port ticket. - Ninh Binh entrance fees, budget day trip: on the option without entry included, Hoa Lu costs VND 20,000, Mua Cave VND 150,000 and the Trang An or Tam Coc boat VND 300,000 or 250,000. The largest combination comes to $18.27 (VND 470,000) on top of $25. - City walk tickets, small-group walk: entry tickets are not included, so bring about $4 in cash. - Ha Giang permit, loop tour: $10, paid on arrival. - Sapa peak surcharge, two-day luxury trek: $33.04 (VND 850,000) per person at a 3-star hotel, $40.81 (VND 1,050,000) at 4-star and $48.59 (VND 1,250,000) at 5-star on the peak dates it lists, and the Fansipan cable car is extra. - Fansipan cable car, one-day trek: not included. - Holiday surcharges: the three-day Sapa trek adds 40 percent of the total over Tet, 29 April to 1 May and 30 August to 2 September. The Vespa city tour adds $10 on New Year, Tet, 30 April, 1 May and 2 September. The cheapest food walk at $15 adds 20 percent on Lunar New Year and special occasions. - Optional or paid extras on the bay: the luxury day cruise charges $15 per person for the shuttle from the Old Quarter if you choose the marina option, and a speedboat at Luon Cave is extra.

Pickup matters because a Ha Long or Ninh Binh day starts early and a big bus cannot always reach your door. Several day-trip listings state that since 1 July 2026 buses over 16 seats cannot pick up in parts of the Old Quarter in the early morning or drop off in the evening, so the pickup point is a nearby street, confirmed within 24 hours of booking. Read the pickup line on the listing before you book a day trip from a hotel outside the centre.

The walking classes meet at a kitchen or a cafe. One cooking class includes a free round-trip transfer, another sends a cyclo, and the market-visit class walks you to the market from its door. The women-led motorbike tour at $59 picks up only from Old Quarter hotels, and otherwise meets at the Opera House.

The listings to book first are the overnight cruises, which have a limited number of cabins, and the three-day Sapa trek, which the listing says is likely to sell out. Because cancellation is free up to 24 hours before, there is little cost in booking early and changing your mind. The one thing to check at checkout is the pickup point, since it can be confirmed after booking on the day-trip listings.

Ha Long Bay, Ninh Binh and Sapa are hours from the city and a tour packages the transport and the boat. The Old Quarter's best food is hard to order without a guide. The central sights are close together and cheap.

Do them alone from the things to do in Hanoi list, and keep the tour budget for one day out and one food evening. Where to stay in Hanoi helps you pick a base near both.